Storylines | City vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

Former City defenders Scott Sutter and Victor "PC" Giro will return to Orlando City Stadium on Saturday, this time as apart of the opposition. The two were both acquired by the Whitecaps this offseason after each spending the 2017 and 2018 seasons in Orlando. Sutter appeared in 51 matches with 48 starts in his two seasons with the Lions, scoring four goals and adding six assists. PC made 18 appearances with 12 starts across all competitions while a member of Orlando City.

Goalkeeper Brian Rowe spent the 2018 season in Vancouver, registering 10 starts and 29 saves for the Whitecaps before joining Orlando City this past offseason.

The Nani Effect

With his spectacular goal in Saturday's match, Nani has now registered a goal contribution in three consecutive matches and in five of his seven appearances since joining Orlando City. He is two matches shy of matching Dom Dwyer's stretch of five straight matches with a goal contribution to start the season. The Portuguese international is tied with Dwyer for the team lead in goals scored with three and is the sole squad leader with four assists. He sits at second in the league in assists, tied with Toronto's Alejandro Pozuelo, Houston's Mauro Manotas and Seattle's Nicolás Lodeiro.

Roles Reversed

The Whitecaps will be traveling to Orlando on short rest after a midweek contest with LAFC on Wednesday. In its two previous trips to BC Place, the Lions have been the ones dealing with a short turnaround time. Last season City traveled to Vancouver for a Saturday match following a U.S. Open Cup match against Miami United FC the previous Wednesday. In 2016, City visited BC Place following a contest against RBNY at Red Bull Arena three days prior. This will be the second time that the Whitecaps visit Orlando on short rest, having done so in 2017.

Substitution Contribution

With Nani's goal on Saturday in Salt Lake, a substitute registered a goal contribution for the seventh straight match this season for the Lions. A substitute has contributed to seven of City's 11 goals this season, scoring three and recording an assist on the other four. Nani is responsible for a goal and an assist and forward Dom Dwyer has provided a goal and two assists off the bench. Chris Mueller has also registered one goal and an assist in that same role. Santiago Patiño rounds out the substitution contributions for the Lions thus far in 2019, recording an assist against Montreal in his Club debut.